War No More
Countries as Friends
Years after the Olympics are over, we can still recall the names of the champions.
Days after we lose a war hero, how many people remember the soldier’s name?
The the first recorded Olympics was in 775 B.C. But the 1st modern Olympic games, as we know it began on April 6, 1896. The International Olympic Committee, which was formed years earlier chose Athens Greece for these athletic games. What started out as a desire of Greece to create a bond of friendship among various countries, has grown into a global peaceful competition among world nations.
Modern Olympics as We Know It
Greece hosted 12 or 13 (if you count Chile) other nations in the 1896 Olympics. (Chile claims they were in the Olympics. They may or may not have had 1 runner in the 100 meter, 400 meter, and 800 meter races, but no record of the athlete has been found in any Olympic official report). Besides, Greece and possibly Chile, the other countries competing were
Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. In the 1900 Summer Olympics, 24 countries joined in the competitions that were held between May and October. In the 2012 Olympics 205 nations participated.
Memorial to a Fallen Hero
Our Soldiers
105 years after the Olympics as we know it started, the Afghanistan War began. On Oct 7, 2001, the United States in response to the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., declared war on terror. 30 nations have joined the coalition, although many have withdrawn their troops in the years this has been going on. To this day, the war continues, making it the longest conflict in United States history.
The soldiers who serve overseas to protect our freedom make great sacrifices. Some come home with horrific injuries, many suffer post traumatic stress, and some lose their lives.
War and the Olympics
War and politics has raged throughout many of the Olympics. In 1916, the games were cancelled due to WWI.
In 1928, 1932, and 1940, the Olympic games were again suspended because of WWII.
In 1972, Palestinian terrorists killed Israeli athletes, in cold blood at the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany. They were targeted solely because of their nationality.
In 1980, 65 countries protested the Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan. Only 80 countries competed.
In 1984, the Soviet Union and 13 other communist countries did not attend the Olympic games in Los Angeles, California.
War No More
And a Community Mourns for the Family
As the 2012 Olympics drew to a close, we learned a young soldier in my town was killed in Afghanistan.
The world celebrated the gold medal winners that weekend. Some of our champions might even have been disappointed bringing home anything less than a gold medal, but they came home. A family in my community learned their son will posthumously get a purple heart medal, all they wanted is for their son to come home.
The Olympians are young and strong, as are our soldiers. The Olympians work hard, train hard, and sacrifice much. Our soldiers work hard, train hard and sacrifice much. If the world had more Olympics and less war, the world would be a better place.
Marine Lance Corporal Greg T. Buckley Jr. was 21 years old. On August 10, 2012, when his duties of the day were over, he and several other marines were exercising in a gymnasium on their base in Afghanistan. Wearing just a tee shirt and shorts, he, and 2 other marines, Corporal Richard Rivera,20 and Staff Sgt Scott Dickinson 29, were shot by an Afghani with an AK-47.
A Community Mourns
Green on Blue Attacks - We Must Question Why We Put Our Soldiers in This Danger!
How did this Afghani get the gun?
According to Greg’s father, the Afghanis come down from the mountains and tell our military they want to be police officers to protect their village. There are no background checks, we don't really know much about them.
We let them onto our military bases. We have our soldiers train them. We hand them weapons and they turn these guns on our own troops.
These marines had just had a meal with the Afghani. After they ate, they decided to work out in the gymnasium. They all walked into the gym together. The Afghan”police officer”, walked out of the gym, and returned with the Ak-47, firing upon the unarmed soldiers. Buckley and his best friend and another soldier from his base in Hawaii, had no chance to defend themselves.
Last year, there were 24 similar attacks, this year there have been over 25 and the assaults are continuing. These attacks are known as "green on blue attacks", because the Afghans are given blue uniforms and then turn these weapons on our military. .
Click on the Greg Buckley Jr Memorial Facebook Page to show your support to stop the war!
Help Bring Our Troops Home Now. Show Your Support
Greg Buckley Sr wants this to stop, and to bring our troops home. He feels our government has turned their back and betrayed our troops, men and women who volunteered to do the right thing for our country. He is looking to get 20 million hits on Greg Buckley Jr. memorial page on facebook, so that he can get the attention of our politicians.
He hopes our government will see that Americans want our soldiers home now.
War, No More.
Please click on this page to show your support and help put end to this war, so that no other family, no community has to deal with this sorrow, this anguish, this pain.
To see a mother whose tears will never dry, to comfort a father whose heart is broken forever, to see brothers who lost their best friend, to comfort this family, it is not possible. They are forever scarred by a war that serves no purpose.
But your support might just save the life of someone you know, and allow that soldier to walk off a plane into the loving arms of their waiting family.
Please honor Greg Buckley Jr. and all are fallen troops. Please click here and share his memorial facebook page with as many people as you can and maybe our government will hear us.
Years after the Olympics are over, we can still recall the names of the champions.
Days after we lose a war hero, how many people remember the soldier’s name?